January 2008 Archives

[huh... i was using imified.com to post this and there really was content to be in this space. here, i'll add it now. sorry for any confusion!]

due to overnight snow accumulations from 3-10 inches depending on where in the GVRD (i refuse to use that new name for the region), i had to take transit into work this morning.

i have no idea how people commute this way every day. yes, it was nice not to have to white-knuckle it down the hills, across the bridge and up more hills, but geez... at least i had THE nicest bus driver ever and ran into some of my favourite co-workers along the way.

too bad my hands were full with bags and brollies so i had no way to carry down something hot and sweet from Starbucks. instead, i'm treating myself to a cup of actual coffee. on a work day. i may pass out from the excitement.

have a good day, even if it snowy!

you may have noticed i don't post here very often.

if you're not subscribed to my twitter feed, you're missing out on all my witty and humourous tweets. i update them much more often than this page.

don't miss out!

i didn't make any new year's resolutions. i made a point of avoiding them completely this year. i know that most of the time, they're a barrier to success, not a goal to strive for. people over-estimate their ability to make many drastic lifestyle changes all at once: go to the gym, quit smoking, find a significant other, work harder, eat better, be nicer, save money, learn japanese.

especially for me. if i try to make a lot of big changes all at once, i know i'm doomed to failure. therefore, i didn't plan any changes. that is, of course, when they started to occur almost of their own accord.

after what seems like years of just talking about it, i've finally taken my friend Colene up on her many offers of support, camaraderie and free gym equipment. she's dubbed us the "celebrity fit club" (because it sounds better than "the biggest loser", she says) and we have a thrice-weekly workout date.

last night marked the end of week one. i've sweated more in the last few days than i have in the last year. i know it sounds pretty disgusting, but it's that healthy, glistening, workout sweat which they try to mimic by rubbing underwear models with baby oil in fitness equipment infomercials. but i got mine the old fashioned way: exercise!

honestly, i thought it'd be a lot harder to get into the groove with it than it has been. i made a point of not trying to go 100 mph right out of the gate, so i'm actually feeling really good and look forward to each next workout. hell, i've even considered making supplementary trips to the fitness room at work on our off days. how crazy is that?

Couch to 5K has been something i've been mentioning off and on for a month or so as a fitness goal i'd like to strive for. i realize now that i'm not quite ready to even start week one of that program, but at least i'm on the right track. i'm giving myself a month to work up to a level where that first week's alternating 60 seconds of jogging won't make me want to rip out my lungs and leave them in a ditch to feed some rabid skunks.

hm, now i wonder if i'm just thinking too far ahead. maybe i should just stick to one workout at at time... at least until the habit is firmly ensconced.

here's to little changes with big rewards!

i've been spending a lot of time lately mulling over, contemplating, planning and gearing up for trying to enter into a fitness regime for the new year. i've been a total and utter sloth for the last year and i'm really quite sick of it. hence all my discussion about undertaking the "couch to 5K" program or finding a workout buddy to, at least, get the ball rolling in the right direction.

the ball, in this instance, being my rotund self.

knowing what i know about the mechanics of weight loss, i'm fully aware that there's no long-term reduction strategy which does not include both exercise and diet alterations. with that in mind, i was revisiting the idea of joining Weight Watchers online. i had fairly excellent success with them a few years back, so they're usually my first thought when a new strict eating regime is contemplated.

this morning, i ventured over to weightwatchers.ca to see what the going rate for online membership was these days. i was convinced that since the dollars are so close to par the Canadian prices were due to be dropped to entice more people to join. boy, was i wrong.

the Canadian pricing is exactly the same as it was in 2004 - it's nice to see they haven't jacked it up due to imaginary inflation - but, when the exchange rate is hovering around 5%, there's not much logic behind a 41% price difference beside profiteering.

when car dealerships, book & magazine retailers and other commercial sectors are coming around to the economics of US and Canadian dollars near par, why isn't Weight Watchers? especially when their product - health - is so much more important than cars or glossy publications!

oh, i know the answer. they're preying on fat people's desperation. that's why there are people who are willing to go on 600 calorie diets and get injected with vitamin supplements (yes, i'm talking to you Dr. Bernstein!) or eliminate all carbs from their diet even though that's what your brain needs to function properly, let alone the rest of your body.

grr. stupid, greedy Weight Watchers. good thing i know enough about your program now i don't need to pay you a single, over-priced dime.

bad thing: my windshield has a two-pronged crack in the lower left corner which wasn't there yesterday. it spread an inch further on the drive home.

good thing: yummy thai food followed by starbucks (in the comfy chairs!) with jamie and colene. if i couldn't be at home, lying on the couch, that was the next best place to be.

To participate, copy and paste the list (below) into your blog, and bold the items that are true for you. Comments in italics.

pre-script: i almost didn't do this because i could see how it's just going to turn into a way to harvest demographic information (nice way to get research data, guys!), but heck, i couldn't pass up the means to snarky comments. i heart snarky comments.